Canadiens goalie Primeau, son of former Flyers great, dazzles
NEW YORK » Not long after Montreal Canadiens goaltender Cayden Primeau made a dazzling glove save on Rangers forward Ryan Strome late in the second period in New York’s 3-2 win on Tuesday night, the typically hardto-impress Madison Square Garden crowd showed their appreciation with an array of “oohs” and “ahhs.”
Perhaps some of those in attendance didn’t know that the 22-year-old grew up not far from the World’s Most Famous Arena; born in Farmington Hills, Mich., Primeau moved to Voorhees at just five months old when his father, Keith, was traded at the time from the Carolina Hurricanes to the Flyers for Rod Brind’Amour.
Making just his seventh National Hockey League appearance, his first this season, and his first this close to home, the highly-regarded prospect was dazzling at times, making 31 saves despite
the tough-luck loss.
“I wouldn’t say that they’re a direct rival of the Flyers, who I watched growing up, but they were definitely one that they didn’t like,” Primeau said of playing the Rangers. “It was definitely special to play in a historic rink.”
Taken in the seventh round of the 2017 NHL Draft, Primeau has looked like a steal ever since. A twoyear starter at Northeastern, he won numerous honors for the Huskies and set multiple records despite his brief stay there; he broke the single-season school record with a 1.92 goals against average in his freshman year, tied the program record with 25 wins his sophomore year, and won MVP honors of the Beanpot Tournament and Hockey East Tournament in 2019 en route to taking home the prestigious Mike Richter Award as college hockey’s best goaltender that year.
With that said, it’s been a slow grind at the professional level for Primeau, who also helped lead Team USA to a silver medal at the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championships. He’s performed well in the American Hockey League, but has largely only received opportunities thus far at the game’s highest level due to injuries; incumbent starter and future Hall of Famer Carey Price has yet to play this season, while regular backup Jake Allen is now on the shelf after suffering an injury in a scary netfront collision with Dylan Larkin this past week.
It’s always seemed to be a matter of time for when Primeau finally gets his extended look in Montreal, so it was a surprise to some that the organization claimed 25-year-old Sam Montembeault off of waivers from the Florida Panthers at the start of this season, at least temporarily supplanting Primeau as the third goaltender on the depth chart.
“I think there’s a battle amongst all the goalies in the organization, I think that’s across the board everywhere,” he said. “Even down in (AHL) Laval, Michael (McNiven) and I, we have a great, friendly competition and competitive edge to our relationship. So, that’s across the board throughout everyone in the organization.”
However, if Primeau can continue making the most of what so far have been sparse opportunities to show what he can do in the NHL, he’s still on track to leave the minors behind sooner rather than later.
“The whole game, he was awesome,” Canadiens forward Jake Evans said. “He made some huge saves, so kudos to him for stepping in on short notice and playing a great game.”